Thanksgiving Football

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions

The first game of the Thanksgiving holiday is always hosted by the Lions (2 – 8), and their opponents this year will be divisional rival Packers (6 – 4). This is a hugely important game for the Packers in their quest for the playoffs. The Lions are coming off a very good win against the Browns and will hope that the emotion from that game will carry over to this one. Also in their favour, is the fact that the Detroit locals love the ‘Thanksgiving Day’ tradition, and always turn out in numbers to support the Lions. These 2 facts, coupled with the news just in that both QB Matt Stafford, and WR Calvin Johnson will start this game, give the Lions a defiant emotional edge. The Packers have just this week lost both CB Al Harris and LB Aaron Kampman to season ending injuries. It will be interesting to see how their improving defence deals with these losses. In the game between the 2 teams earlier in the year, the Lions managed to sack Aaron Rodgers 5 times, although the Packers won the game 26 – 0. Detroit will need to get pressure if their 32nd ranked pass defence is to have any chance against Rodgers and co. For some reason I actually like the Lions to cause an upset here, but don’t believe in it strongly enough to pick it

Lee’s Prediction: Packers 17 Lions 13

Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys

The 2nd game of the Thanksgiving football feast, as always, has the Cowboys (7 – 3) hosting the Raiders (3 – 7). The Raiders have finally gone with QB Bruce Gradkowski, in place of the very poor JaMarcus Russell. This switch helped them in their win against the Bengals at the weekend; the big question here is whether he can continue that form. Gradkowski will need to play well against this impressive Cowboy defence. This unit has helped keep the Cowboys close in recent weeks, as the offence has been struggling (just 14 points in the last 2 games). Another worry for the Cowboys is that QB Tony Romo did take a knock in the game at the weekend, and although he will start, he will not be 100%. This game, like the first one, is very important for one teams playoff challenge (in this case the Cowboys), but the underdog in the game is coming off a win at the weekend, and would love to spoil the party. Although I can see Detroit coming close, I cannot see the Raiders troubling the Cowboys in Dallas. The Raiders offence is the worst in the league is most categories, and even if the Cowboys struggle to put up point, the defence will see them through.

Lee’s Prediction: Raiders 6 Cowboys 24

New York Giants @ Denver Broncos

The final game on Thanksgiving is a rotating game handpicked by the league. This year’s edition sees the 6 – 4 Giants travel to Mile High, to play the 6 – 4 Broncos. The Broncos are in real trouble after losing their last 4 games, including the beat down by the Chargers just 4 days ago. They really need to kick start their season if they want to keep their playoff push alive. The Giants have also been on a 4 game losing streak recently, snapping it just this weekend against Atlanta. They will be looking to get their playoff push going, as their division is getting tighter and tighter. The problem in recent weeks for the Broncos has been their inability to stop the run. Look for New York to try to establish the run early and often. This might be easier said than done though as both Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, are carrying injuries for the Giants. The major problem for the Broncos is going to be their banged up QB. Orton played the 2nd half on Sunday, and was visibly in pain. This really doesn’t bode well against this very aggressive Giants defence. I think the Giants get the win here, and the Broncos slide continues.

Lee’s Prediction: Giants 24 Broncos 13

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